Athletes of the Week: May 1-7, 2017
The Empire 8 crowned team champions in softball, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse and men's tennis over the weekend and some great performances were displayed throughout the rain soaked week. Those earning weekly honors for the week of May 1-7, 2017 include...
Baseball Player – Canton
Seth Douglas, Senior, IF – Reedsburg, WI/Reedsburg
Seth Douglas hit .556 (5-for-9) with two home runs, a double, three runs and drove in seven runs in a 2-0 week for the Roos. He opened the week going 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI. In SUNY Canton’s season finale he finished 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs and drove in five runs. He finished the season with nine home runs, which breaks his own single-season home runs record in SUNY Canton program history.
Baseball Pitcher – SUNY Canton
Jake Vierno, Sophomore – Massena, NY/Massena
Jake Vierno tossed six perfect innings in relief giving up just two hits, while striking out three batters to earn his second win of the season. The Roos defeated Utica 9-6 to improve to 2-0 on the week and keep the Pioneers out of the final playoff spot.
Softball Player – No Nominations
Softball Pitcher – St. John Fisher
Lindsey Thayer, Junior – Winthrop, NY/St. Lawrence
Lindsey Thayer was named the tournament MVP after she went 3-1 last week to lead St. John Fisher to the 2017 #E8 Championship. Thayer allowed three earned runs in 28 innings of work for a .75 ERA. She struck out 58 batters and surrendered 14 hits in all while limiting the opposing batters to a combined .152 average.
Men’s Lacrosse Player – Nazareth
Joe Eiskant, Senior, Attack – Vestal, NY/Vestal
Joe Eiskant was named the Most Valuable Player after he helped Nazareth pull off back-to-back upsets in overtime of the Empire 8 tournament. He had three goals in Nazareth's 14-13 overtime win over second-seeded Ithaca in the Empire 8 semifinals on Wednesday. He then led Nazareth with three goals and two assists as the Golden Flyers stunned top-seeded Stevens 11-10 in the title game to earn a bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Lacrosse Tournament.
Men’s Lacrosse Goalie – Nazareth
Andrew Leahey, Freshman – Albany, NY/Shaker
Andrew Leahey came of the bench in each of the post-season games to lead Nazareth to two come-from-behind wins over Ithaca and Stevens. He played a total of 75:53, making eight saves on a .444 save percentage. He allowed five goals and made five saves in Nazareth's 14-13 overtime win over Ithaca on Wednesday in the Empire 8 Semifinals. He allowed five goals and made three saves in 40:48 of action against Stevens to help Nazareth win 11-10 in overtime for the Empire 8 crown.
Women’s Lacrosse Player – St. John Fisher
Claire Bollin, Junior, Midfield/Attack – Webster, NY/Webster-Schroeder
Claire Bollin helped the Cardinals secure their sixth consecutive Empire 8 title and an automatic bid into the 2017 NCAA Division III Women’s Lacrosse Championships. She scored two goals and totaled 10 assists as Fisher downed both nationally ranked Ithaca College and Stevens Institute of Technology over the weekend. She totaled 12 shots, three ground balls and won 15 draw controls in the two-game stretch.
Women’s Lacrosse Goalie – St. John Fisher
Morgan Hayes, Freshman – Syracuse, NY/West Hill
Morgan Hayes made five saves and had a .556 save percentage in 66 minutes of action as St. John Fisher won its sixth straight Conference Championship. She stopped three shots and allowed one goals in the semifinal win over Ithaca as she played 6:42 in net. On Sunday, she made two saves and allowed three goals in 60 minutes of action against Stevens. The three goals allowed ties the fewest goals allowed in an E8 Tournament game.
Men’s Outdoor Track Athlete – Utica
Nicodemus Gambill, Senior – Rochester, NY/East High
Nicodemus Gambill was named the NYSCTC Track Athlete on Saturday at St. John Fisher College. Gambill placed first in the 100 meter dash with a time of 10.67. He broke his own facility record after placing first in the preliminaries on Friday with a time of 10.61. Gambill also won the men's 200 meter dash with a time of 21.96. He broke his own facility record in the preliminaries on Friday when he placed first in the 200 meter dash with a time of 21.71. Gambill finished the day with 28 team points for the Pioneers as he also joined the 4x100 meter relay and placed second with a time of 42.45. He currently ranks sixth on the 100 meter outdoor national qualifying list (10.55) and 18th nationally on the 200 meter list (21.58).
Men’s Outdoor Field Athlete – Alfred
Seth Spicer, Junior – Corning, NY/Corning-Painted Post
Seth Spicer was named the New York State Collegiate Track Conference (NYSCTC) Field Athlete of the Meet during the Outdoor Track and Field Championships. He got his biggest push for the award when he won the decathlon last Sunday and Monday. He finished with 6,388 points, winning was his second NYSCTC Championship title of the 2016-17 season as he won the indoor heptathlon this year as well. During the outdoor championships at St. John Fisher College on Friday and Saturday, Spicer finished fourth in the 110-meter hurdles (15.71) and eighth in the discus throw with a toss of 37.81 meters.
Women’s Outdoor Track Athlete – Nazareth
Samantha Goble, Junior – Waverly, NY/Waverly
Samantha Goble ripped off a season-best time of 2:17.44 to win the 800 by more than a second over Hamilton's Hanna Jerome at the NYSCTC meet over the weekend.
Women’s Outdoor Field Athlete – Ithaca
Katherine Pitman, Senior – Swampscott, MA/Swampscott
Senior Katherine Pitman set the all-time NCAA Division III record in the pole vault at the NYSCTC Championships on Saturday. Pitman won the pole vault and cleared 4.28 meters (14 feet, 0.5 inches) to break the previous top DIII mark by .01. She now owns both the best all-time marks in indoor and outdoor, as well as the NCAA Championship meet records for both seasons.
Men’s Tennis Player – Stevens
William Persson, Junior – Leonia, NJ/Leonia
Junior William Persson led Stevens to its eighth consecutive Empire 8 Conference championship Saturday after an undefeated weekend at second singles and doubles. Persson teamed with Divin Sarthak for a pair of 8-5 wins at second doubles defeating Houghton in the semifinals and Ithaca in the finals. At second doubles, he defeated Jordan Crouch of Houghton in the semifinals 6-3, 6-1 and then won 6-2, 6-3 against Ithaca’s Michael Gardiner. For his efforts, Persson was named the championship's MVP for the third time in as many years.